Marshawn Lynch questionable, what it means for Seahawks

The injury report for the Seattle Seahawks got a surprise addition on Friday. Star running back Marshawn Lynch is now listed as questionable with an abdominal injury.

Being listed as questionable is supposed to mean that the player has a 50% chance of playing. Under Pete Carroll, the actually percentage is a bit lower than that.

Lynch should play, but we won’t know for certain until Sunday afternoon.

If Lynch cannot play, or if he’s limited, then the responsibly for running the ball will fall on rookie Thomas Rawls. Rawls filled in admirably for Lynch earlier in the season when Lynch dealt with hamstring issues.

More from 12th Man Rising

• 4 prospects Seahawks could reach for at No. 20 in 2023 NFL Draft
• Seattle Seahawks Mock Draft: Post-first wave of free agency 
• Seahawks podcast: A review of the first week of free agency
• 4 experiments the Seattle Seahawks could cut short in 2023
• 3 pros and cons of Seattle Seahawks drafting Anthony Richardson

With Rawls on the field the play calling changes. Rawls is not the power runner that Lynch is, and isn’t nearly as protective between the tackles. Instead, the Seahawks tend to run more zone stretch with Rawls in the game, which fits his skill set better.

That makes it much tougher to run the read-option. Zone stretch is best run with Russell Wilson under center and not in in the shotgun. The Seahawks become a much more traditional play-action offense with Rawls in the game.

Pete Carroll also confirmed today that Paul Richardson will be activated off the PUP list tomorrow and will play on Sunday. Carroll also said that Jeremy Lane isn’t ready yet. He is currently targeting next week’s game for his return from the PUP list.

Richard Lockett is the only player listed as “out” on the injury report. He is expected to land on season-ending injured reserve to make room or Richardson. Everyone else on the injury report is listed as probably and will play.